Today is the Day!

She was excited to pick our her outfit for today, but not so cracked up about going to bed last night. When I woke her up this morning, I said: "Today is the Day!"  "Are you ready?" And before she opened her eyes, she grinned great big, and said: "YES!"

At the door, ready to go in.

She remembered where her room was!

Her room, and classmates.

Is it me, or does she look really little?

The Highlight Reel

One day last week after Jackson took a shower with Daddy, he decided to run back in to see Isabelle.  He slipped and cracked his nose on the tile ledge. Pretty ugly.

Before.

And yes, he does usually look like this.

Dirty.

After.

The next day.

Today.

He's such a cheeser.

He must be from Wisconsin.

I took the front of his crib off.

He gets out every night anyway.

And, yes, that is a princess pillow. He's very secure in his masculinity.

I got a bushel of peaches and a bushel of pears.

And a half bushel of red beets.

Some of the finished products- 18 quarts of peaches,

12 pints of pickled beets.

A very yummy peach cobbler.

From Paula Dean.

This is the girl we took to her Preschool Open House today.

Oh my.

"Between Heaven and Earth"

A lovely evening with delicious food and beautiful friends.

Does it get any better than that?

My Weekend and Few Favorite Reads...

I've been so busy this week, I've barely had time to post on my own blog, let alone read anyone else's.  BUT, I had to share a couple with you today.

Kristen at: "We are THAT Family"  inspires me.

Makes me cry most every week.  And that's sayin' somethin'.

Adele at: "Mila's Daydreams" makes me smile.

 How creative is she?  What a beautiful gift she has.

Marisa from: "New Dress A Day" amazes me. Truly. 

Grosgrain.  An old favorite, but boy does she have the best giveaways!!

Check out her latest:

SILHOUETTE MACHINE GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Yesterday was cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, dinner with friends.

Today, laundry, laundry, laundry, peaches, beets, dinner "Between Heaven and Earth".

Tomorrow? Church, lunch with friends, Isabelle's Preschool Open House, NAP. 

Coffee Thief

Monday morning when dropping the kids at school, I needed to run inside quickly to talk to the school secretary.  Since Isabelle and Jackson were still asleep, I thought I would just leave them in the car.  Big mistake.  HUGE.  (name that 80's movie)

"Mommy!"

"Cotsee" 

"Mommy cotsee?"

"Cotsee!"

"Cheese"

Isabelle had unbuckled, moved her carseat to the front, helped herself to my coffee, and then ever so nicely, shared with her brother.

I'm also fairly certain people have been jailed for less... stealing a sleep-deprived momma her coffee on a Monday morning.  A serious offense in my book! 

Harvest

Chopping corn is one of Ryan's favorite farm things to do. Usually, call it luck or coincidence, the corn is ready to be chopped Labor Day weekend. Nice, because my brother Reuben, and Cousin Lee can come help Ryan.  Bummer because we have not had a "Long, last weekend of Summer" in years.  Due to an exceptional dry season, the corn was ready to go last Friday.

Ryan Chopped, Scott drove the truck.

Ron drove the packing tractor, Robert drove too.

I made sandwiches.

Ryan Chopped, John drove the truck.

Van packed the pile, and Zach drove the tractor.

And I made the sandwiches.

Gerald worked on the pile, 

and I made the sandwiches.

Ryan tried to kill himself, 

And I stopped making sandwiches.

We all were very sad that Uncle Reuben, Cousin Lee, and Wesley and Logan were not here.  Elizabeth said: "Chopping is NO fun without Wesley and Logan".  And I agreed.

Maybe they'll come Labor Day weekend anyway, and we can do "fun" stuff instead of work!

A Little Boy After My Own Heart

He loves his shoes so much, he doesn't want to take them off.

Even for the shower.

Good thing they're rubber. 

A Month Later...

Do you remember me saying that Elizabeth made her own birthday cake?  This is it:

I think she did a FABULOUS job!

She did this on her own, while I was at work.  Really.

 Elizabeth

July 22, 2010

Eleven Years

No longer in the single digits...

Oh my...

Here Comes the Bride...

She unrolled the paper towel all the way around the island,

stripped down to her underwear, made a "flowing gown" with a red towel,

said: "Mom, you say: dant dant ta da"

and walked down the aisle.

(She hooked arms with Jackson, and tried to get him to walk with her, but he would not have any of it!)

First Day of School

Today was the day!

Elizabeth didn't want her picture taken.

She was all worried about her hair.  "It's all bumpy and stuff" She said. 

She is now in the fifth grade. (hard to imagine) The 5th & 6th grades are together at the little Catholic school they attend.  She was very excited to be in with the big kids finally.  A place she thought she belonged from the first day of Kindergarten.  She still had a smile at the end of the day when I picked her up, we are anticipating a FABULOUS year!!

Besides a little shoe drama and being very tired, William was all smiles for his picture!

He is in the third grade, and joins his sister on the second floor.  A true "Big Kid" in his own mind.  He enjoyed having recess and lunch with the other "Big Kids".  I already got a message from his teacher telling me he had a great day, and she's looking forward to a great year!

I love small schools. 

And this is as close as they would get for a photo...

Mommy bonus?

Breakfast at Bob Evans with the other moms!

I'm Ready.

The supplies are bought, the bags are packed.  After the last few days, I am MORE than ready for school to start tomorrow.

Why?  Besides the constant arguing?   The back talk?   The whining?  The staying up all hours, cutting into my me time?

I'm ready to have coffee with my girls!

Helping Daddy

Ran across this post in my archives...

The beginning of June, Fabian, one of our two employees broke his foot while working.  Poor guy was in a bit of pain and had a hard time getting his pain medication.  Good thing I have a decent supply...

For Ryan, that meant he and the other hired hand needed to step up and get those cows milked!  Fortunately, we have lots of free labor:

Elizabeth, William, Isabelle and Jackson were more than happy to help. 

And I was more than happy for the break.

Sunday Afternoon Home Decor Project

As excited as I am about decorating this house, my obsessive compulsion to stay organized  (the losing battle that it is) has had me crushing on this system from Pottery Barn:

Isn't fabulous?  Organized chaos.

It comes in a black finish that would fit into my kitchen beautifully. 

Unfortunately, the $500.+ price tag does not.

Shopping Wednesday at Target, look what I found:  

The $84. price tag fit perfectly in my budget!

And since I have the power drill out..

Our Weekend Review

I'll start with Wednesday because that is when the fun REALLY began.

Wednesday morning after the alarm went off, but before I got up, Jackson threw up his entire milk bottle. On me, him, the sheets.  In to the shower we went.  After he threw up two more times, I decided it was NOT a fluke thing, and worked from home.  You may think it a bit irresponsible of me to leave him with a babysitter on Wednesday night and take the other kids school shopping, but, the young man acted fine the entire day.  Maybe it was something he ate?  No fever, no nap, played like a champ.
Thursday, off to work I went.  At about 4 pm, the babysitter called.  Isabelle just threw up EVERYWHERE. No big deal right?  I should have expected this right?  I can hear my mom now... "honey, what were you thinking?"   What I was expecting, was my friend with her four children arriving at any minute for a couple of days.  When my friend R. arrived, Isabelle was sleeping soundly on my bed.  Completely frustrated at the situation, I apologized, and said: "hopefully no one else gets it".  Thursday night, Ryan and I both got it.
Friday, we were off to the zoo.  Never mind the heat and humidity, we had a fabulous time.  Highlight of the day?  No one got sick...
Saturday, after filing our eight children into a local resturant for lunch, the waitress asked:  "So... what group do we have here?"  to which I replied:  "Uh... these are our children."  And by the look on her face, you could tell what she was thinking- "These women smoke crack".

A few photos from the weekend: 

Feeding the penguins

A train ride

 A mama peacock and her babies

The kids (all 40 of them)

checking out the zebras & wildebeest

I just got a note from R.- They are laying low today... feeling a bit under the weather.

I guess, the moral of this story is: If you are coming to visit us, call first and inquire about our health... 

Back-to-School Shopping

Before I tell you this conversation, you should know that I absolutely hate it when I hear other mothers yell at their children in public.  It always makes me wonder how they talk to them in private.  And the few times I've witnessed spanking in public? yeah.  THAT makes me wonder even more.

I decided that tonight was the night we were going to get all of our school supplies and needed clothing items.  Not being to much on the list, I thought for sure we could get it done after work today.  Not so much.  At ten pm, after we had closed down the Target store, this is the conversation we had on the way to the car:

William:  "Are we going anywhere else?"  "I didn't get any shoes."  "Where are we going now?"

Me: "No, we are not going anywhere else."  "We are going home."

William:  (whining) "But why?"  "I didn't get any shoes." "I don't want to go home."

Me: (normal tone) "Because Elizabeth is tired, Isabelle is cranky, and you are not listening."

Isabelle:  "And Mom is yelling...Like - SOLID."

Our Garden..

Was planted very late.  Thanks to the local Farmer's Market and our friends, we have been enjoying fresh fruit and vegetables this summer.

I made cherry and blueberry pie filling earlier this summer.

The only thing we've gotten out of our garden so far.

Zucchini.  And lots of it!

Last night T. and I froze sweet corn.

From our neighbors garden of course. 

20 dozen made about 32 quarts.

My green beans are blooming... and I think I'll have just gobs since Ryan planted them all over the place.  Need some?

As for the tomatoes, I do believe there are 36 plants.  They have started blooming as well.

I'm sure I'll have extra of those too!